World Literary Histories as Rewritings of World Historiography

ABSTRACTThis essay approaches the question of rewriting world civilization through a sub-set of civilizational history, namely the historiography of world literature. I will use the changing conceptions of world literature to track a change of emphasis on what matters in world civilization. My prese...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Thomas O. Beebee
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2023-07-01
Series:Comparative Literature: East & West
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/25723618.2023.2266297
Description
Summary:ABSTRACTThis essay approaches the question of rewriting world civilization through a sub-set of civilizational history, namely the historiography of world literature. I will use the changing conceptions of world literature to track a change of emphasis on what matters in world civilization. My presentation is in three parts: a discussion of the nature of history, of literature, and of world literature; a comparison of two nineteenth-century German histories of world literature; and a comparison of two twenty-first century histories of world literature.
ISSN:2572-3618